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Main street in Alpine, Texas could be main street in any small town in America. And it has different political opinions too, as does every town in America. Two friends who attended Alpine High School together in the 60’s see things differently regarding the nation’s new President. Here are their commentaries as shared on Facebook.

Rochelle A Sohl, M.D.

March 10, 2017

This is where I stand. Our 45th President, his power hungry cronies taking positions of authority in his Cabinet and administration, and the majority of Republicans in Congress are a real and active threat to me, my way of life, and all the people I love ~ ( including many whom I have never met but none the less have a human and humane love and respect for.) Some people are still saying that we should give Trump a chance, that we should “work together” with him because he won the election and he is “everyone’s president.” This is my response:

•I will not forget how badly he and so many others treated former President Barack Obama for 8 years…•I will not “work together” to privatize Medicare, cut Social Security and Medicaid.•I will not “work together” to build a wall.•I will not “work together” to persecute Muslims.•I will not “work together” to shut out refugees from other countries.•I will not “work together” to lower taxes on the 1% and increase taxes on the middle class and poor.•I will not “work together” to help Trump use the Presidency to line his pockets and those of his family and cronies.•I will not “work together” to weaken and demolish environmental protection.•I will not “work together” to sell American lands, especially National Parks, to companies which then despoil those lands.•I will not “work together” to enable the killing of whole species of animals just because they are predators, or inconvenient for a few, or because some people want to get their thrills killing them.•I will not “work together” to remove civil rights from anyone.•I will not “work together” to alienate countries that have been our allies for as long as I have been alive.•I will not “work together” to slash funding for education.•I will not “work together” to take basic assistance from people who are at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.•I will not “work together” to get rid of common sense regulations on guns.•I will not “work together” to eliminate the minimum wage.•I will not “work together” to support so-called “Right To Work” laws, or undermine, weaken or destroy Unions in any way.•I will not “work together” to suppress scientific research, be it on climate change, fracking, or any other issue where a majority of scientists agree that Trump and his supporters are wrong on the facts.•I will not “work together” to criminalize abortion or restrict health care for women.•I will not “work together” to increase the number of nations that have nuclear weapons.•I will not “work together” to put even more “big money” into politics.•I will not “work together” to violate the Geneva Convention.•I will not “work together” to give the Ku Klux Klan, the Nazi Party and white supremacists a seat at the table, or to normalize their hatred.•I will not “work together” to deny health care to people who need it.•I will not “work together” to deny medical coverage to people on the basis of a “pre-existing condition.”•I will not “work together” to increase voter suppression.•I will not “work together” to normalize tyranny.I will not “work together” to eliminate or reduce ethical over site at any level of government.•I will not “work together” with anyone who is, or admires, tyrants and dictators.•I will not support anyone that thinks its OK to put a pipeline to transport oil on Sacred Ground for Native Americans. And, it would run under the Missouri River, which provides drinking water for millions of people. An accident waiting to happen.This is my line, and I am drawing it.•I WILL stand for honesty, love, respect for all living beings, and for the beating heart that is the center of Life itself.•I WILL use my voice and my hands, to reach out to the uninformed, and to anyone who will LISTEN:That “winning”, “being great again”, “rich” or even “beautiful” is nothing… When others are sacrificed to glorify its existence.Signed: Rochelle Ann Sohl, M.D. (A native of Alpine, Dr. Sohl is a graduate of U.T. Austin with a degree in Math and Physics. She attended medical school at the University of Texas Health Center in San Antonio and completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at UTHSCSA where she was Chief Resident. She is certified and licensed in 7 states. Currently Dr. Sohl is retired in Las Cruces, N.M. She speaks multiple languages, including Spanish and is a graduate of Alpine High School.)

And I stand up Right beside our 45th President Donald J. Trump.•I will not forget how Barack Obama for 8 years totally abused his position as our nation’s President pushing through anti-American court and cultural changes to tear down our country, inciting riots, hatred between groups of citizens, facilitating hordes of illegal aliens and terrorists to enter the country, and refusing to compromise with Congress on any political matter whatsoever. He issued Executive Orders (dictator decrees) instead. Obama failed to perceive the concept of what it is to be President of the United States, having never been more in his lifetime than a community organizer. That is why President Trump won. Thank goodness. Mr. Trump is a self made business man. He is doing us a favor by taking on this Herculean task to clean up American politics.
•I will “work together” with him to continue protecting Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid by making sure it is not tapped out and abused by illegal aliens or others for whom it was not meant.
•I will “work together” to build a wall…virtual or otherwise…to protect the United States from being invaded by those who would destroy us politically, militarily, physically and spiritually for their own benefit, especially drug dealers.
•I will not persecute Muslims. Who said we would? No one.
•I will not allow would-be terrorists to sneak into the USA hiding among real refugees who need our help.
•I will “work together” to lower taxes on business, which in turn allows consumers to purchase more goods, thereby stimulating our national economy which has been moribund for 8 years.
•I will “work together” to help President Trump use his business skills to cut our national debt while simultaneously creating more jobs for all, especially blue collar middle American workers who were forsaken by Obama.
•I will “work together” to rid fake news reports that climate change can be controlled by mankind. How silly. Yes. Earth can be kept cleaner and greener by all of us working together. But what we need is to do is find ways to adapt to the forthcoming climate changes, not believe for one minute we humans can control the weather. We cannot. This is what authentic scientists say, not the ones who are paid by special interest groups to report otherwise.
•I will “work together” to protect American lands, especially National Parks, from companies which could spoil such lands. And I am against environmentalists who want to protect those lands only for their own personal uses too.
•I will “work together” to protect the lives of human fetuses and animals being killed off for either convenience or sport.
•I will “work together” to protect the civil rights of American citizens, as well as the rights of those who want to become Americans and join us. But I have no interest in protecting those determined to destroy our Western ways or who want to live in America “separate with equal benefits.” This practice must stop.
•I will “work together” with those countries that have been our allies for as long as I have been alive, especially Israel.
•I will “work together” to protect tax funding for education, especially for charter and religious schools if tax paying parents request it so.
•I will “work together” to protect basic financial assistance for people who are truly dependent on it, but will also ask to put a cap on paying out government benefits to those having a temporary “set back,” or who decided to “take a break” at our government’s expense.
•I will “work together” to always protect our personal right to bear arms. Otherwise the only ones with guns will be criminals, police and the military.
•I will “work together” to allow States to name their own minimum wages. High minimum wages prevent young people and low skilled persons from getting jobs at all. A first job leads to a second job that pays better. People who support high minimum wages for beginners obviously have no business background. They are forcing business to use robots instead of hiring human beings to work.
•I will “work together” to support so-called “Right To Work” laws so each state may decide for itself what its union laws will be or not be. What is good for New York is not necessarily good for New Mexico. We need stronger States’ Rights.
•I will “work together” to support scientific research, be it on climate change or fracking, to reassure the public such activities are not hurting us; they are actually helping us.
•I will “work together” to stop the federal government from paying for abortions as a convenience. If a woman chooses to abort her baby the courts say she may do so. But the first words written in our nation’s Constitution say “We the People, are entitled to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Our first right is our Right To Life. Who today is protecting the rights of unborn Americans? No one. We protect unborn Bald Eagles before we protect unborn Americans.
•I will “work together” to decrease the number of nations with nuclear weapons.
•I will “work together” to encourage TV networks to run free political ads. Then networks will not stir up massive political fights forcing politicians to spend millions on TV commercials. The country is going down the drain and TV networks are rolling in cash. If TV ads were free politicians would need less money to run for office. Equal air time rules would be required too.
•I will “work together” to continue the Geneva Convention in protecting the rights of war criminals, but that does not mean I support closing Gitmo (Guantanamo Bay Prison in Cuba).
•I will “work together” to give Lefties, Hollywood actors and Black Lives Matter a seat at any political table, so we can ask why they hate hard working, successful white Republicans so much. The GOP gave blacks the right to vote, women the right to vote, Equal Pay for Equal work and our Civil Rights. Why are Lefties so confused about who did what for America? This is an example of why teachers’ unions, led by NEA, are failing as instructors and why parents want better schools for their children. Fake News is bad enough. Teaching Fake American History is treasonous.
•I will “work together” to provide health care for people who need it, but absolutely not for those who lie, cheat and steal to get it. Even worse are insurance companies with political clout who lie, cheat and steal to sell it.
•I will “work together” to affirm medical coverage for people on the basis of a “pre-existing condition” if it was not self inflicted. Someone who knowingly over eats, smokes, does drugs, drives in speeding cars, or attempts suicide and fails, should go through more vetting than usual to qualify for “pre-existing” health coverage. It is a reasonable request.
•I will “work together” to increase legal voter turnout. We should require proof of American citizenship from every voter by asking for a photo ID. They are given out for free. There is no living function in America without one: driving, banking, attending school, working, owning a gun or traveling, to name a few. Anyone who refuses to show a photo ID to vote obviously does not live where s/he claims.•I will also “work together” to stop the tyranny of the Mafia like Lefties who are rioting and inflicting destruction across America because they cannot get their way. I will work to displace every political bully in America, regardless of their age, political affiliation, gender, race, job, religion or lifestyle. No exceptions.•I will “work together” to eliminate unethical behavior at any level of government , business, or news and information agency, where I see or hear it. I will report to the proper authorities without hesitation any crime, intelligence leaking, double dipping, evidence withholding and/or stealing when it is apparent.
•I will “work together” with anyone who abhors tyrants, dictators, fake news reports, name callers or hate spewers. Ignoring them would stop them.
•I will support putting in a pipeline to transport oil across any Sacred Ground protected for Native Americans, as long as the Native Americans agree and would benefit from it financially. Ditto for running pipe under any river, if it can help states financially and protect the country environmentally as a whole, why not? The more oil we have here means the less reason we have to go to the Middle East.
•I WILL stand for honesty, love, respect for all living beings, and for every beating heart that is the center of Life itself. This is why I am pro-life. I would rather pay taxes and subsidize homes for orphan children than fund Planned Parenthood to abort teeny tiny babies and then chop them up to sell for parts.
•I WILL use my voice and my hands, to reach out to the uninformed, and to anyone who will LISTEN.
“Winning,” “being great again,” or “rich,” or even “beautiful” is cheer leading for middle class America. Cheerleaders talk this way about their teams, their hometowns, their countries and their politics. It’s uplifting! We are the luckiest country in the world today to have Mr. Trump. Even top Democrat Bobby Kennedy says Mr. Trump may well be America’s Greatest President ever. Time will tell. But in my heart I know the only hope we have now to save America is to follow President Trump. I want to be the first in line. Signed: Cynthia Neu McCluskey (Anative of Alpine, Cynthia is founder and travel coordinator for the Fun & Fitness Travel Club, Inc., based in McLean, VA with 6000 club members nationwide. Her prior 33 year career was spent working as both a print and TV News reporter, an anchor and a bureau chief in El Paso, Texas; Washington, D.C. and Moscow, Russia. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso and Alpine High School. She began her journalism career in high school writing a ‘Teen Talk’ column for the Alpine Avalanche newspaper.)

Oh how I love you, little sister. My twin that Momma liked better! Bahahahaha! Did I not say that our love for each other (and Ricky) trumps all! (Pun intended). I think I got somebody’s “goat!” I cannot stop laughing that reposting Mike Perry’s repost caused such a ruckus. Bahahahahahahaha!

I’m with Cynthia on this. Regrettably Rochelle and others on the far left, won’t even honor the position of POTUS, even if they don’t care for the person holding that position. Those of us on the right had to put up with someone we disliked, not only for Obama’s 8 years, but also Clinton’s 8 years. If true Americans really want our Republic to succeed, we must work together, rather than butting our heads against one another like a couple of rams, which will ultimately lead us to destruction of the country as we knew it in the mid 1900’s or even now. Without support from both the left and the right, we might as well just let the Muslims take over the entire world, and let them kill anyone who won’t change their God. Their Allah is NOT God the Creator and Perfecter of our souls.

Y’all are reasonable and we aren’t! THAT is silly, Kathy. I abhor war and violence in any form and for any cause including the left wing violence occurring in the wake of the national election (And, the white nationalist violence against various minorities).. I could care less whether your god or someone else’s god is the same or different. And, by the way, I love this country, the American flag, our fighters, and the the concept of the Presidency. But, as I said before, I will not help the person who currently sits in that position change everything back that I consider positive change having occurred over the past half century or so. That goes for the Congress as well. I will actively, non-violently, work in opposition to the current GOP/alt right administration and legislators.

By the way, I hated George Bush, the younger, but I never felt he was not my President.

Here again, I would have to say that I am a moderate, independent. There are some untruths being said by both sides. I could spend all kinds of time writing my response to each of the points that are being made by both, but frankly I am too lazy and I don’t think it will change anyone’s mind should I do so.
I think the real problem is that we are becoming more like the Palestinians and the Israelies. The only difference being that the Israelies always have more military power.
In our case, one party nudges out the other and then claims their views are right. They both try and bastardize the system to their advantage and usually manage to do it to a certain extent. As far as I can tell,
the “polarization” is continuing and probably will continue through this administration without a doubt.
If either side thinks that this is progress, well, so be it.
100 years from now when we are still doing the same thing as the P and the I’s on the other side of the world,
maybe we will wake up and take a different approach.

Florence Poor
Melbourne, FL.
As I see it, Trump plans to make the rich richer by tax breaks and the poor poorer by removing the social safety net. He plans to do it in such a way that you will feel a spiritual uplift. All those welfare cheaters are getting punished! That feels so good! All the illegals are being deported! That feels so good! All the terrorists are being kept from coming here! That feels so good! All the rapists, murderers and drug dealers from Mexico are being sent back to Mexico! That feels so good! The other countries of the world are being put on notice! We will no longer do favors for Germany! That will feel so good! We will have a big military and that will gain us the respect we deserve! That feels so good!

Material well-being? That’s for billionaires. Ego satisfaction? That’s for you and me. Ego satisfaction at the same time as our material well-being is being eroded.

But I do not expect you to see it as I see it, and that is okay.
Everyone has a right to his or her own opinion.